Egypte: Mensen - Goden - Farao's

by Rose-Marie Hagen, Rainer Hagen, Rieja Brouns (Translator)

3000 jaar Egypte. Het stromen van de Nijl. De bouw van de piramiden. Het geheim van de hiërogliefen. Een reis door de onderwereld. Heerlijke geuren. Toverkracht en geneeskunst. Mummies voor de eeuwigheid. De positie van de vrouw. De macht van de schrijvers. De eerste staking uit de wereldgeschiedenis. De cobra beschermt het land en de farao.

Genres: History, Egypt, Nonfiction, Art, Reference, Art History, Egyptology

240 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1999

About the author

Born: 1928, Switzerland

Reviews

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few months back, my wife and I went to Glasgow for the weekend, where we took in the Tutankhamen Exhibition, which I believe has travelled around the world. (The next day we were talking to an Australian couple who said they been to see the same exhibition in Sydney). The fact that such an exhibition still takes place indicates the fascination that Ancient Egypt continues to exercise.

My wife bought this book from the exhibition gift shop, and I decided to give it a try on a bit of a whim. The first third or so is an introduction to the history and culture of Ancient Egypt, and its “discovery” by Europeans from the early 19th century onwards. The rest of the book highlights particular examples of Egyptian art. Each artwork featured gets a full page photo with a facing page of text, explaining the features of the art to laymen such as myself. Art was created for sacred purposes, especially of course for tombs.

I thought this was pretty good to be honest. It’s clearly a guide for the uninitiated rather than the specialist, but then I am part of the target audience. The book highlights the particular techniques of Ancient Egyptian art. Paintings were almost always two-dimensional, with human figures shown in an unusual dual perspective - usually shown in profile but with the shoulders shown from the front.

The photos are superb. This would make for a decent coffee-table book, but it’s more than just that.

[Emiliya Bozhilova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Когато през 450 г. пр. н. е. Херодот е пътешествал из Египет, Египет вече е бил древен отвъд всякакви тогавашни понятия, и е бил преминал зенита си. Най-великите му паметници и шедьоври, с които е известен и днес, вече са били покрити с патина.

Това кратко илюстрирано издание припомня в стегнат и богато илюстриран порядък няколко стари факта:

1. За Западния свят преоткривателят на Египет е Наполеон и неговите историци и илюстратори, които документират и представят пред европейците монументите и техните цветове.

2. 30 години по-късно Шамполион разчита розетския камък и йероглифите, възникнали вероятно около 4000 г. пр.н.е., отново проговарят.

3. Египетското изкуство, независимо дали архитектурно или изобразително, е изкуство за вечността и изкуство на социалния статус. Боговете са на първо място, следва фараонът, аристокрацията и всички останали. Поради което изобразителното изкуство е канонично и стилизирано, двуизмерно, с липсващото трето измерение и перспектива, което да доближава до реалността. Причината не е, че египетските художници не са можели да покажат триизмерни обекти. Просто не е било позволено. Композиционно дори в най-пищните стенописи и картини човешките фигури са оразмерени според социалното им положение: господарите са били най-едро нарисувани, слугите по-малки, а работниците - дребни като деца. Единственото изключение, и то донякъде, е времето на Ехнатон, когато той за кратко (преди да го убият) проповядва монотеизъм, и сме наследили бюста на Нефертити от тази епоха. Във фигурите липсва реализъм, но пък има стил, който от края на 19-ти век превзема Европа и САЩ по време на сецесиона. Да си припомним само лампите и бижутата на Тифани в древноегипетски стил, или творчеството на Климт.

4. Във всяка мания, включително в египтоманията, винаги прозира липса. Опитваме се да открием нещата, които ни липсват, и често откриваме повече от съзнателно и несъзнателно търсеното.

След въведението книгата представя подбрани образци на изкуството с кратка информация за тях. Илюстрациите са прекрасни. Текстът е кратък и за любители, не за специалисти, и точно в това е силата му - да популяризира красотата и историята.

⭐️4,5 звезди⭐️

[✨Bean's Books✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing read! Great information and stunning photos. Highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Egypt.

[Jenifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This reads like a textbook, but has fascinating facts and wonderful pictures.

[Susan Liston · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful book...great photography, interesting text

[Alex Kartelias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learning about their religion and how their beliefs made up everything they did was fasnicating. Reading about how the story of Osirius and Isis influenced Christianity was shocking as well. The pictures of the pyramids and temples are breathe- taking and because the chapters focus on certain subjects instead of following the order of history, makes it a more enjoyable read. Highly recommend it.

[Mercedes Constantine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well organized book on Egypt with excellent photography. Easy read in the evenings. Only giving it 4 stars though as I wish it had a glossary with pronunciation.

[Gretchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars—3 for the history, 4-5 for the photography. Even my seven-year-Old flipped through the pages, staring at the pictures in wonder. That, truly, is the treasure of this book—recording the preserved visual snippets of the Egyptian world. Stunning wall paintings, sculptures, and daily artifacts fill the pages and accompany the narrative. In this way, the book makes an excellent coffee table type book, in addition to being of interest to those who enjoy what Egypt made and how the ancient civilization lived.

The history is blasé and mainstream, with very little original insight to contribute. The attempts to connect the religion of ancient Egypt with Christianity, however, resulted in a laughable conclusion that the author knows very little about Christianity and even less about Egyptian religion. Honestly, the whole accepted narrative of Egyptology leaves a lot to be desired, in my mind. The more I learn about Egypt, the more I learn how truly little we do know. So many conjectures have had to be made, but they’ve been said so often that it is just not questioned anymore.

[Jacca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and inspiring. Delves into a lot of the social structures of Ancient Egypt as well as their progression. It explores how art, as such an integral part of their society, wasn't just stylistically interesting but also provides the majority of our understanding of their cultures.

[T P Kennedy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a bad book. Excellent images and very nicely produced. However, reads like a collection of disconnected essays on ancient Egypt. Bits of interesting information to be acquired but not that many connecting threads. An interesting read but not one to return to.

[Saskia (Smitie) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Een heel interessant overzicht van de Oud Egyptenaren. Veel mooie foto's die ik herken van mijn vakantie in Egypte dit jaar. Het gaat nergens echt diep in op de stof, maar voor een vogelvlucht is dit boek perfect.

[Jennifer Nash · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the pictures. Read like a text book. Would have been better if the book was in story form. Some of the information was confusing or boring.

[Helen Pugsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Simple. Weirdly horny for paintings of dead dancing girls tho. They're dead. Let them rest.

[Reseñando voy, reseñando vengo. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente introducción al milenario y bello mundo de la civilización del Nilo. A través de una serie de capítulos nos va introduciendo en la misma vida y corazón de los habitantes de las tierras negras.

[Jason Baldauf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good picture examples of Egyptian art. Fun to browse through, not much in literary substance. Worth picking up from the library for perusal.